Main menu

Post navigation

Pioneer Announces New Plasma HDTVs

Pioneer has a strong reputation for high-quality plasma displays. At their spring line show event in New York, the company announced their new products for 2007:

Brand

Model No.

Screen Size (Diagonal)

Resolution

Availability

Suggested Price

Pioneer

PDP-4280HD

42 inch

XGA

June

$2,700

Pioneer

PDP-5080HD

50 inch

XGA

June

$3,500

Pioneer

PDP-5010FD

50 inch

1080p

September

$5,000

Pioneer

PDP-6010FD

60 inch

1080p

September

$6,500

Elite

PRO-950HD

42 inch

XGA

July

$3,200

Elite

PRO-1150HD

50 inch

XGA

July

$4,500

Elite

PRO-110FD

50 inch

1080p

September

$6,000

Elite

PRO-150FD

60 inch

1080p

September

$7,500

One look at the prices makes it clear that Pioneer intends to hang onto the premium positioning for plasma HDTVs, but that’s certainly going to be a challenge as the “lesser” brands improved their quality and close the gap between “good enough” and “the best”. A look at the pricing also indicates how difficult it will be for plasma to compete with LCD in the 50″ range. The Pioneer new models have a $1,500 premium for 1080p resolution (over the typical 1,024 by 768 pixel XGA resolution). Sharp Aquos LC-52D62U and LC-52D82U 52″ 1080p LCD HDTVs are readily available for less than $3,000 already.

It’s little wonder that Pioneer annnounced yesterday that the company plans to “break away from the commoditization model that most manufacturers are taking with flat panel displays”. It strikes me that commoditization — which means low prices and vanishing profit margins — are a function of competition in the marketplace and not the result of a strategic plan by manufacturers to lose money. So it’s not immediately obvious how Pioneer plans to succeed by not competing on price.